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Find out more about the world and yourself at Sawyer Library. Browse the stacks or search our online databases. Don't stop if your battery's getting low; if you need to borrow a laptop, phone charger, or Kindle, we've got you covered.

Enrich your academic experience with Sawyer Library resources. Discuss an upcoming assignment in a group study room, type a paper in a private study carrel, or bring a snack and relax in a comfortable chair. If your research hits a snag, ask a Reference Librarian for advice.

Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan Forms

Request Article

Request Book

Request Book Chapter

Faculty Interlibrary Loan

InterLibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services for Faculty

Sawyer Library happily provides document delivery (ILL) services to obtain materials it does not already own or have direct access to.

A Note on Local Library Resources

Boston is an information-rich city with many academic libraries accessible to faculty members and within walking distance from the subway system.

If the materials being sought are available from these libraries, the faculty member might want to visit these locations in person to use the collections directly. This approach is particularly useful if time is important in obtaining needed materials. Sawyer Library's reference librarians will help identify which library has the materials the requester is seeking. Or, to check local holdings for yourself, you may use our WorldCat. Most local libraries are open access and have photocopying facilities that the general public can use to copy periodical articles.

Also, please do not assume that Suffolk does not own access to a journal just because the full-text does not link from a particular database. Always check the eJournal Locator and the Archer Online Catalog before visiting another library or ordering an article through ILL.

InterLibrary Loan

Library staff makes all reasonable accommodations to further faculty research. ILL requests are accepted and processed within the constraints of available staff resources. We ask that you not submit ILL requests for materials that we own and which are currently available for use (including titles we might own in eBook format). If you need assistance in verifying what is available and what is not, please consult a Reference Librarian.

Turnaround Time

Interlibrary loan requesters must allow at least two weeks for materials to arrive. In many cases, journal articles are received much more quickly. And in some rare cases materials may not be available for loan or photocopying or provisions of the copyright law may restrict the library from requesting materials.

Number of Requests

Due to limited staff resources, request processing may be limited to two per day, per individual user. (That is, we impose no limit on the number of requests you can submit. We only warn that we may not be able to process all requests immediately.)

Receipt and Return of Materials

Faculty will be notified by phone or e-mail when their materials arrive. If a faculty member prefers, the Library will place the non-returnable material (such as articles) directly into campus mail when received. In addition, some articles are received electronically, and may be converted to PDFs and emailed. Please indicate on your ILL form, if you prefer this option, when available. To prevent loss or damage, returnable items (such as books) must be picked up at, and returned to, the Reference Desk of Sawyer Library.

Please note that the Library cannot fill ILL requests for materials that are already available in the Sawyer, Suffolk Law, or NESADSU libraries in print, microform, or electronic formats. Because ILL is intended for personal use and because another library's materials should not be put at undue risk, returnable materials acquired through ILL cannot be placed on Reserve for class use. In addition, some materials may be limited to use within the library by the lending institution. If there is a photocopying restriction, or other condition established by the lender, it must be honored.

Books are checked out to the requester for the loan period determined by the lending library. Renewals are at the discretion of the lending library. Anyone who borrows a book is responsible for any charges for late, lost or damaged materials. When materials are returned late, or lost, it jeopardizes not only the requester's borrowing privileges, but also the borrowing privileges of the Sawyer Library. Photocopies or faxes that are not picked up will be discarded 30 days after receipt.

Anyone who consistently abuses interlibrary loan borrowing privileges will be denied the use of the service.

InterLibrary Loan Request Forms

Faculty may fill out paper forms, available at the Reference Desk, or they may choose to use web-based ILL forms to request journal articles and/or books.

If you have any questions about our ILL services or how to verify or locate materials, please contact a Reference Librarian at 617-573-8532 or email us at sawlib@suffolk.edu. In addition, our ILL assistant, Phally Eth, may be contacted directly at 617-573-8427 or via email at illsawlib@suffolk.edu.

PhD Student Interlibrary Loan

InterLibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services for Ph.D. Students

Sawyer Library happily provides document delivery (ILL) services to obtain materials it does not already own or have direct access to.

A Note About Local Library Resources

Boston is an information-rich city with many academic libraries accessible to students and within walking distance from the subway system.

If the materials being sought are available from these libraries, the Ph.D. student is encouraged to visit these locations in person to use the collections directly. This approach is particularly useful if time is an issue in obtaining needed materials. Sawyer Library's reference librarians will help identify which library has the materials the requester is seeking. Or, to check for local holdings yourself, use WorldCat. Most local libraries welcome visitors and all have photocopying facilities that the general public can use to copy periodical articles.

Also, please do not assume that Suffolk does not own access to a journal just because the full-text does not link from a particular database. Always check the eJournal Locator and the Archer Online Catalog before visiting another library or ordering an article through ILL.

InterLibrary Loan

The Reference staff makes all reasonable accommodations to further research for Ph.D. students. ILL requests are accepted and promptly processed within the constraints of available staff resources. We ask that you not submit ILL requests for materials that we own and which are currently available (including titles we might own in eBook format). If you need assistance in verifying what is available and what is not, please consult a Reference Librarian.

Turnaround Time

Interlibrary loan requesters must allow at least two weeks for materials to arrive, although articles are often received much more promptly. In some cases materials may not be available for loan or photocopying, or provisions of the copyright law may restrict the library from requesting materials.

Dissertations and Master's Theses from other institutions are especially problematic. In many cases these items are single, archival originals at the issuing university's library. These are often NOT available for loan. We are happy to try to obtain these for you but we cannot promise success.

Number of Requests

Due to limited staff resources, the number of requests processed may be limited to two per day, per individual user. (That is, we impose no limit on the number of requests you can submit. We only warn that we may not be able to process all requests immediately.)

Receipt and Return of Materials

Ph.D. students will be notified by phone or e-mail when their materials have arrived in the library.

Some articles, obtained electronically, may be sent directly to your email account as a PDF or other attachment. Please indicate on your ILL forms if you prefer this email delivery of articles.

Some materials, including dissertations, may be limited to use within the library by the lending institution. If there is a photocopying restriction, it must be honored.

Books are checked out to the requester for the loan period determined by the lending library. Renewals are at the discretion of the lending library. Anyone who borrows a book is responsible for any charges for late, lost or damaged materials. When materials are returned late, or lost, it jeopardizes not only the requestor's borrowing privileges, but also the borrowing privileges of the Sawyer Library. Photocopies or faxes that are not picked up will be discarded 30 days after receipt.

Anyone who consistently abuses interlibrary loan borrowing privileges will be denied the use of the service.

InterLibrary Loan Request Forms

PhD may fill out paper forms, available at the Reference Desk, or they may choose to use web-based ILL forms to request journal articles and/or books.
If you have any questions about our ILL services or how to verify or locate materials, please contact a Reference Librarian at 617-573-8532 or email us at sawlib@suffolk.edu. In addition, our ILL assistant, Phally Eth, may be contacted directly at 617-573-8427 or via email at illsawlib@suffolk.edu.

Masters & Undergraduate Student ILL

InterLibrary Loan and Document Delivery Services for Masters and Undergraduate Students

Sawyer Library wants to make sure that you can gain access to all the resources you need to do your best academic research work. Your research should begin with the use of Sawyer Library's own print and electronic resources. And this may be supplemented with research visits to area libraries, and through Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery services.

Please Note: Access to Local Resources

Boston is an information-rich city with many academic libraries accessible to our students and within walking distance from the subway system. If the materials being sought are available from these libraries, the student is urged to visit these locations in person to use the collections directly. This approach is particularly useful if time is important in obtaining needed materials. Sawyer Library's reference librarians will help identify which library has the materials the requester is seeking. You may also consult WorldCat , which is our library database that acts as a unified online catalog for most libraries in this area and this country. Local libraries all have photocopying facilities that the general public can use to copy periodical articles or chapters from books.

Regarding Journals, please do not assume that Suffolk does not own access to a journal just because the full-text does not link from a particular database. Always check the eJournal Locator and the Archer online catalog before visiting another library or ordering an article through ILL.

Masters & Undergrad Loan Turnaround Time Accordion Item

Please remember, Interlibrary Loans are NOT a last-minute, my-paper-is-due-tomorrow option. The ILL process takes time, and requesters must allow at least two weeks for materials to arrive. In some cases materials will come sooner. In other rare cases materials may not be available for loan or photocopying or provisions of the copyright law may restrict the library from requesting materials.

Materials Sawyer Library Owns

We cannot process ILL requests for materials that we own and which are currently available for your use (including titles we might own in eBook or microform formats). If you need assistance in verifying what is available and what is not, please consult a Reference Librarian.

Textbooks

Unfortunately, we cannot request current textbooks (or any Reserve or required books) through Interlibrary Loan. Like our library, most libraries do NOT loan current textbooks through ILL. In addition, the loan period for an ILL book is two weeks to one month, well shy of the semester students need. Please either buy your textbooks or use the two Reserve copies that Sawyer Library has purchased for student use.

Number of Requests

Due to limited staff resources, the number of requests made, per person, may be restricted.

Receipt and Return of Materials

Students will be notified by phone or e-mail when their materials arrive. Some non-returnable material (such as articles) are received electronically and it may be possible to convert these to PDF and email them to you. If that is your preference, please indicate this on your request form. All other materials must be picked up at--and books returned to--the Reference Desk of Sawyer Library.

Please note that the Library cannot fill ILL requests for materials that are already available in the Sawyer, Suffolk Law, or NESADSU libraries in print, microform, or electronic formats. In addition, some materials may be limited to use within the library by the lending institution. If there is a photocopying restriction, it must be honored.

Books are checked out to the requester for the loan period determined by the lending library. Renewals are at the discretion of the lending library. Anyone who borrows a book is responsible for any charges for late, lost or damaged materials. When materials are returned late, or lost, it jeopardizes not only the requester's borrowing privileges, but also the borrowing privileges of the Sawyer Library. Photocopies or faxes that are not picked up will be discarded 30 days after receipt.

Anyone who consistently abuses Interlibrary Loan borrowing privileges will be denied the use of the service.

InterLibrary Loan Request Forms

Students may fill out a paper request form at the Reference Desk--this is a good choice if you need assistance with the process. Or you may choose to use web-based ILL forms. Please note that all requests must have complete and accurate information. A "bad citation" may delay or prevent the filling of your request. Need help verifying an item? Come see us at the Reference Desk!

Law Student Interlibrary Loan

Sawyer Library supports SSOM and CAS student research. If you are a law student, please contact the Suffolk Law Library for your supplemental research needs, no matter what the subject matter of the material needed. Please consult the Law Library's ILL page for more information.

More Questions?

If you have any questions about Interlibrary Loan services (or any other research needs), please visit a Reference Librarian at the Sawyer Library Reference Desk, or call us at 617-573-8532 or email us at sawlib@suffolk.edu. And if you wish to contact our ILL assistant about an existing request, you may do so by phone to 617-573-8427, or by email to illsawlib@suffolk.edu.

Policy for Borrowing Libraries

Our General ILL Philosophy

Sawyer Library (SUF) is committed to reciprocal free lending. Our basic policy is "We don't charge you, if you don't charge us." Towards that end, we belong to LVIS, are Nelinet Co-Signers (NO$$), and also belong to the Fenway Library Organization (FLO) and the Boston Region (BRLS) truck route.

Obviously, for free lending to be truly reciprocal, library holdings must be easily identifiable. Ours are, through OCLC's WorldCat. (Serials holdings may be displayed through NEUL and NO$$ in WorldCat). In addition, a library may explore exactly where a material is held (in our six SUF affiliate libraries), and whether the material is currently available, by checking our online catalog (OPAC), which may be found at: http://library.law.suffolk.edu/search/.

Suffolk Collections, and What We Do and Don't Loan

When checking the OPAC, please be aware of the following: Locations that include the word "Law" are at the Suffolk University Law Library (WorldCat: SLL). This is a separate library, which maintains their own, autonomous ILL office. You may reach Law Library ILL staff at (617) 305-1614. Law's fax is (617) 723-3164. Or check their Policies Directory profile in WorldCat.

SUF includes materials in 4 different libraries. We cannot loan materials located in Madrid, Cape Cod Community College, or new materials located in the NESAD Library. We also do not loan materials designated as Reserves, Reference, Rare, Archives, eBook, Periodical, or Microtext.

We will cheerfully loan any circulating material in Sawyer Library. And we will provide articles (which can be faxed at no additional cost) from any journal that we hold in periodical or microfilm/fiche format. Because of our license agreements with our vendors, we cannot provide articles that are held ONLY on one of our fulltext databases.

OCLC and IFM Preferred

We greatly prefer that ILL requests come to us through the Resource Sharing subsystem (WRS) of WorldCat. However, we are willing to accept ILL requests on ALA form, or fax equivalent, if a library needs this option.

We prefer NOT to invoice, so if we are loaning to a library we would charge (that is, a library that would charge us, or a corporate lender incapable of free reciprocal lending, with no holdings in WorldCat), we greatly prefer charging using the IFM system. We charge what you charge, or $15-$20 for a non-supplier using WorldCat, IFM, and standard delivery options.

Special Policy for Non-OCLC/IFM Corporate Borrowers

For Corporate Non-Suppliers (usually local law firms) requesting a "hand-carry" pick-up by messenger, rush fax, phone requests, or other special, labor-intensive services, previous abuses have forced us to institute a special policy:

Sawyer Library will gladly provide Document Delivery Services to local corporate libraries in accordance with the following guidelines:

Materials at our Madrid, or Cape Cod campuses are not available for loan. And NESAD materials are only rarely available (no renewal, add 48 hours to preparation time).

A Fee of $20.00 (Payable, at the time of receipt of volume or copy, to Suffolk University) will be charged per item requested. This charge covers:

Retrieval of Material
Preparation for Mailing or Pick-up by Borrower's Designate
Free Fax or 1st class shipment of non-returnables (articles)
Free 1st class/priority shipment of returnable (book)
Other shipment options (FedEx, etc.) will only be offered if Borrower provides their own account number.

Most Corporate Borrowers prefer to send a messenger to pick up their loan. We are happy to accommodate this preference. All materials awaiting pick-up will be at the Reference Desk of SAWYER Library, which is located on the second floor of our 73 Tremont Street Building. If you provide the required contact phone number or email address, we will notify you as soon as the material is ready to go.

An ALA-Equivalent Request Form must be FAXED to 617-573-8756 for every requested item.

Although Sawyer Library Staff attempts quick turnaround (almost always the same day), because of limited staff, we may not be able to provide same-day service. We will let you know, if there is an expected delay.

All ALA-Equivalent forms MUST contain the name and phone number of the Librarian/Information Specialist responsible for loan and billing matters.

For returnables, our loan period is 28 days. If not needed by a Suffolk user, the book may be renewed for another 28 days. Only one renewal per loan. For renewal, the borrowing library must send a follow-up email (to illsawlib@suffolk.edu) or a fax request PRIOR to the book's original due date.

Overdue items will jeopardize a Borrower's privileges. And lost or damaged materials will be billed for their full value plus a $25.00 processing fee.

Returned materials may be dropped off at the REFERENCE DESK of Sawyer Library (73 Tremont) or they may be shipped to our mailing address: ILL/Sawyer Library/Suffolk University/8 Ashburton Place/Boston, MA 02108-2770.

Please do NOT return ILL returns to the Circulation Desk at Sawyer Library, and NEVER return Sawyer Library materials to the Suffolk LAW LIBRARY. Thank you!